Peek inside Resorts World Catskills, new player in Upstate NY's busy casino market

Would you bet $1 billion to start a business in a market that experts call “over saturated?” Would you start that business knowing that all your recently opened competitors are failing to make the money they expected?

The people behind the Resorts World Catskills casino near Monticello in Sullivan County are taking that bet. They are opening the initial phase of their project Feb. 8, amid widespread reports that the Upstate New York casino market is “crowded” and “tough.”

The Resorts World team seems to be confident this casino will be different.

“This is not a typical regional casino,” Resorts World Catskills public relations manager Talya Shlang said while leading a recent tour during the final phase of pre-opening construction. “We have more of a high-end, curated experience than you’ll find at other casinos. We have amenities you won’t find in other places. And we have a special focus on Asian-American customers others don’t have.”

Photo: The hotel at Resorts World Casino is visible through the skylight in the resort lobby.

2018-01-27-mjg-Casino8.JPG

Michael Greenlar

Photo: A craps table at the Resorts World Catskills casino in Sullivan County.

2018-01-27-mjg-Casino22.JPG

Michael Greenlar

Resorts World Catskills is located near the site of the former Concord Hotel, once the largest of the famed “Borscht Belt” era Catskills resorts that drew thousands of summer visitors, primarily from New York City. Its backers don’t hesitate to throw around the word “luxury” when describing it. They proudly point to its setting amid the scenic hills of the southern Catskills.

“You’ll see lots of windows, letting the light in and showcasing out beautiful place in the mountains,” Shlang said. “It’s not dim like many casinos. We are part of the local environment.”

Photo: The hotel at Resorts World Catskills. About 150 rooms (all suites) will open Feb. 8; the rest in late March.

Among the advantages that may help Resorts World Catskills compete with other Upstate casinos: It’s closer to New York City and its suburbs than the other “Vegas-style” casinos that opened in Upstate New York in the past 13 months. The Catskills resort just off Route 17 is about 90 miles from Manhattan. That’s closer than del Lago Resort Casino near Waterloo in the Finger Lakes, Rivers Casino Resort in Schenectady and the racino-turned casino at Tioga Downs, in Nichols west of Binghamton.

All three of those casinos opened in the past year or so, and together they are falling about $200 million short of their projected first-year gaming revenues. Del Lago, owned by Rochester developer Thomas Wilmot, was recently given a “negative” outlook by the Moody’s Ratings Service, which warned it may not be earning enough to pay off its debts.

Aside from the new properties, Upstate New York is also home to six Indian nation casinos, with a seventh opening this month, plus seven racinos (harness tracks with slot machines).

Blog_catskills.JPG

Resorts World Catskills

But proximity to the New York metro area is just one of the differences at Resorts World Catskills, said Charles Degliomini, executive vice president for the casino’s owner, Empire Resorts.

“You can’t look at those casinos and compare them to what we have here,” Degliomini said. “We’re bigger, yes. But we’ve built a better mousetrap.” He also frequently repeats another phrase to describe this project: “We have four pistons in the engine.”

Resorts World Catskills is owned by Empire Resorts, which also operates the nearby Monticello Raceway, a racino that combines harness racing and slots. The majority shareholder of Empire Resorts is K.T. Lim, a billionaire Malaysian gaming magnate. He is chairman of the Genting Group, operator of casinos and resorts around the world -- including those under the Resorts World name. In this case, Empire Resorts is the owner, and it is operating as a Resorts World under a license with Genting.

Photo: This rendering shows what Resorts World Catskills will look like when its fully open in March.